Your View: KOMU 8 responds to comments on campus protest coverage

COLUMBIA - KOMU 8 News extensively covered the protests at the University of Missouri campus last month. KOMU 8 News had wall-to-wall coverage the day protests broke and more than 50 different stories with diverse angles regarding the events on campus. However, some viewers criticized the coverage, calling it biased and overdone. Viewer Karen Davis said KOMU 8 News only reported one side of the story. Viewer Anita Mclntyre said KOMU 8 News kept running the same images over again.

We talked to some of the staff at KOMU 8 News to see if they could clarify why the station decided to extensively cover the story. KOMU 8's News Director Randy Reeves said they knew this story was important for the community, and they needed to make sure it was thoroughly covered.

"This was an important story that impacted more than just the campus. It is one of the largest employers in our viewing area, and this was a change of the two top officials. We felt that was a big, big story," Reeves said.

"The University of Missouri is a core part of Columbia. There were some questions about why we are spending so much time covering something that is happening on campus. But what happens on campus definitely has a ripple effect in the entire community. In this case, the story had a ripple effect across the entire country," Hammock said.

Hammock accounted for the repetition of some images and some context in individual stories to the fact that each piece needed to stand alone. She said each story in television needs to be understood by anyone, even if they are not fully informed of the situation. This is why context is vital for each story.

"In each individual story you still have to give some background. So, yes, there might have been some repetition so that any one story could stand on its own without having to read all the other stories," said Hammock.

Regarding the accusations of bias, Reeves said KOMU interviewed a wide variety of people who had different opinions.

So, what do you think about KOMU 8's extensive coverage of the campus protests?

We want to hear from you. Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. Then watch KOMU 8 News at six on Fridays for your view of the news.